Before he was considered a CIA superagent, before he was thought of as a terrorists worst nightmare, and before he was both loathed and admired by the politicians on Capitol Hill, Mitch Rapp was a gifted college athlete without a care in the world . . . and then tragedy struck.

Your Likes make Audible better!

Publisher's Summary

Before he was considered a CIA superagent, before he was thought of as a terrorist's worst nightmare, and before he was both loathed and admired by the politicians on Capitol Hill, Mitch Rapp was a gifted college athlete without a care in the world... and then tragedy struck.

Two decades of cutthroat, partisan politics has left the CIA and the country in an increasingly vulnerable position. Cold War veteran and CIA Operations Director Thomas Stansfield knows he must prepare his people for the next war. The rise of Islamic terrorism is coming, and it needs to be met abroad before it reaches America's shores. Stansfield directs his protégé, Irene Kennedy, and his old Cold War colleague, Stan Hurley, to form a new group of clandestine operatives who will work outside the normal chain of commandmen who do not exist.

What type of man is willing to kill for his country without putting on a uniform? Kennedy finds him in the wake of the Pan Am Lockerbie terrorist attack. Two-hundred and seventy souls perished that cold December night, and thousands of family and friends were left searching for comfort. Mitch Rapp was one of them, but he was not interested in comfort. He wanted retribution.

Six months of intense training has prepared him to bring the war to the enemy's doorstep, and he does so with brutal efficiency. Rapp starts in Istanbul, where he assassinates the Turkish arms dealer who sold the explosives used in the Pan Am attack. Rapp then moves onto Hamburg with his team and across Europe, leaving a trail of bodies. All roads lead to Beirut, though, and what Rapp doesnt know is that the enemy is aware of his existence and has prepared a trap. The hunter is about to become the hunted, and Rapp will need every ounce of skill and cunning if he is to survive the war-ravaged city and its various terrorist factions.

There's a reason Flynn is considered the king of the hill when it comes to this brand of thriller! He's has done it again with American Assassin. Although its been a long time coming, this latest Mitch Rapp adventure does not disappoint and has been worth the wait. It is as fresh as the first installment of the series, Transfer of Power, and continues to be up to date as today's news, as are all his novels. Brad Thor, Daniel Silva, Stephen Coonts, WEB Griffin and maybe even Ted Bell, with the amazing Sir Alexander Hawk are all paying homage to American Assassin this morning as being the new benchmark,
Thank you Mr.Fynn for always producing first rate material that is narrated by the master with a voice that make the words come alive, Mr George Guidall.
This Thriller is worth the credits or dollars and has left me waiting for the next Vince Flynn installment
Les C. Houston TX.

This book was acceptable, but nothing to rave about. It had the typical action of the other Mitch Rapp books, and the forced "love interest" of other Mitch Rapp books. It got me down the road and didn't put me to sleep, but certainly nothing to get worked up over.

Maybe I expected to much for my first Flynn novel evolving his popular character Mitch Rapp because as another reviewer pointed out I felt it lacked any real intrigue or suspense, I don't like to quote others but I believe that really sums up my first experience with a Vince Flynn novel. I found the first half which evolves Mitch Rapp's introduction and training into black operations enjoyable but his first adventure (mission) following said intro and training to be rather flat and mostly uneventful, again lacking suspense. Maybe it would have been better if I would have been like so many others and read previous books from the Mitch Rapp series but I know this is the prequel to the first book in the series so I started here, maybe I will enjoy the next book in the series more which is actually the first in the series, got to start somewhere I guess.

The story starts out fast, and has a quick pace throughout. Mitch Rapp fans, get ready to find out how it all started, who trained him, and nurtured his natural abilities. Some real insightful stuff for Rapp fans everywhere. Worst thing about it is, now I am going to have to wait another year to get my next fix! Great read, well worth the listen! If you never listened to or read a Vince Flynn novel, this is a great place to start. It will get you down the path and should have been the book he started with, but having followed the Mitch Rapp career, it makes this listen all the sweeter! Get it you won't be disappointed!

From the moment I heard Vince's customary first interview with Joe Soucheray on Garage Logic last week, I had a feeling this would be an interesting view of the early life of Mitch Rapp. I was NOT disappointed. American Assassin is fantastic! Great insights into the past of some of the key characters in the Rapp series. A gripping storyline that was intense!!! If you are already a Flynn fan, you will love this book. If you are new to Flynn's work... give it a shot, BUT be prepared for some intense action! ...Hopefully none of you ever have to play "20 questions" in the Middle East.

As I sit here in Middle America, I am hopeful that there are "real life" Rapp's and Hurley's in the field with Kennedy's and Stansfield's supporting them stateside.

George Guidall does a great job bringing Flynn's story to life! My only complaint is related to production issues of the audiobook. First version of Part 1 did not play on iPod Touch (had to download the high quality version to listen). Chapter breaks were too long and were not synchronized with the book. Made it slightly inconvenient to navigate, but quality of the story FAR outweighed any production concerns.

While better than the last two Rapp novels, this 'origin issue' could have been a lot better. It seems like Flynn has run out of ideas for Rapp and is just going through the numbers now with this series. This truly could have been much better in the character development behind the American Assassin. Instead, we get a Superman story. For example, when Rapp, immediately after being recruited by Kennedy arrives at a spy training camp in Virginia, there is nothing for him to learn. Rapp, after having done nothing more than 'taken a few months of courses at a strip mall dojo' manages to immediately and embarrassingly beat his instructor in hand to hand combat, a man who's been training Special Forces soldiers day in and out for years who also has decades of fighting experience. The rest of the time at Spy camp is spent exercising. We don't get one shred of insight as to how Rapp learns his spycraft or his great 'dirty tricks' he uses on the terrorists in the earlier novels. It only takes about 5 minutes on the gun range for the 'never been taught to shoot' Rapp to become an expert and the best shot in the service. The latter portion of the novel is Rapp's first mission in Beirut and you can already see the ending many chapters before it arrives. There just wasn't much suspense or surprises that could have been done with a little more effort from Vince Flynn. And it's a shame because I own nearly all of his books except for the last few and I know he has the talent in him.

Late in the book, my favorite character Stan Hurley finds himself in a difficult situation. What he does during this time made me laugh so hard that tears were rolling down my face (at least twice). I have been listening to the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child and although I really like the stories, I haven't laughed at anything like this in the first nine books. George Guidall does a fantastic job narrating the story and his character voices coupled with the author's character descriptions are so vivid that your mind will automatically create a real-life image of each character. Fantastic work.

With this first (of hopefully many) Mitch Rapp back story, Flynn continues to deliver. I have enjoyed several of his books in paper, but narrator George Guidall makes them come alive. Now if only we can get these read unabridged by Guidall:
• Memorial Day
• Separation of Power
• Term Limits
• The Third Option
• Transfer of Power

Flynn hits a home run again! The only thing wrong with the experience of hearing Guidall bring Rapp to life as only he can is that it's just like dining out on a good steak...it's so delicious that you know you should take your time and savor every minute, but just can't help yourself when you devour it like a maniac and suddenly it's over before you know it. Pure genius to take us back to the beginning, Vince. Hold on tight, Rapp fans. Another great kick in the teeth to the PC crowd.

I am a Baldacci fan and have become used to his style of drama. This story was well paced with a good plot some twists. Bad language a little much but mostly in context, so did not distract from story. I have come to like the main character so will listen to another.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Churchill1940

ILFORD, United Kingdom

3/4/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Vince Flynn introduces Mitch Rapp a masterpiece!"

I have become a Vince Flynn addict. He is masterful writer keeping your pulse racing until a great climax as you will find.George Guidall one of Audible best narrator's brings forth the excitement of Flynn's writing. His character changes, just remarkable. 5* should be used as a narrator more often. Bar-Humbug to anyone's else's opinion!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

MR

10/6/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Dreadful Narration"

What disappointed you about American Assassin?

This narrator completely spoiled what could have been a good book. He emphasised the wrong words in sentences, took breaths in the middle of sentences and didn't even bother to try different voices for the characters. Overall he was appalling.

Would you recommend American Assassin to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recommend the paper book but not this audiobook.

What didn’t you like about George Guidall’s performance?

Everything. See above for the worst points but he also sounded very old.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It was difficult to ascertain but underneath the narration it could possibly be a good book.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Kirsteen

Tain, United Kingdom

7/3/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Excellent, a Gripping Story"

If you could sum up American Assassin in three words, what would they be?

Exciting, Detailed, Spirited

Which character – as performed by George Guidall – was your favourite?

Mitch Rapp

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I loved it and kept switching it back on at every opportunity. I found the story gripping and really exciting, I got very nervous when it came to scenes of torture, as I can't bare to know the details of such things and if I was watching a movie or reading the book I would skip past any gory bits, but there is no such luxury when listening to audio. Thankfully the torture scenes were kept to a minimum and the details not too gory.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Report Inappropriate Content

If you find this review inappropriate and think it should be removed from our site, let us know. This report will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.

Your report has been received. It will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.

Can't wait to hear more from this listener?

You can now follow your favorite reviewers on Audible.

When you follow another listener, we'll highlight the books they review, and even email* you a copy of any new reviews they write. You can un-follow a listener at any time to stop receiving their updates.

* If you already opted out of emails from Audible you will still get review emails by the listeners you follow.